12,000 Vendors to Have India’s First Bharat QR Code Enabled Devices, Thanks to One Startup

The Bharat QR Code, introduced by the government in early 2017, has been incorporated by digital payment solutions enterprise Bijlipay into its POS Machines.

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The present Government of India has shown a strong belief in the potential of cashless transactions in reducing corruption. Since demonetization, it has pushed for Indians to adopt cashless payment methods and introduced a variety of initiatives including the BHIM app. The launching of Bharat QR code earlier in 2017 was a step in the same direction.

Bijlipay has become the first company to enable Bharat QR code on the screens of its point-of-Sale (POS) machines. The company has currently enabled the code for 12,000 merchants and aims to reach a target of 50,000 merchants by the end of 2017, reports Financial Express.

Since every merchant in the country uses different QR codes, Bharat QR Code is an effort by the government to standardize digital payments across the nation.

QR Codes or Quick Response codes refers to a two-dimensional barcode made up of black and white boxes, contain machine-readable information. Camera phones are equipped with the ability to read these codes. During a purchase or transaction, the merchant code is scanned along with the amount payable to complete the transfer. This is how digital wallet services operate.

While using the Bharat QR code however, one need not create a digital wallet. Instead, the money is drawn directly from the bank account.

Bijlipay acknowledges that by merely providing the POS machines would do little for encouraging Indians to let go of their love for cash transactions. As Deccan Chronicle reports, Bijlipay is ready to aid in “handholding, education and awareness”, so that Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities can also reap the benefits of going cashless. It ensures that end-to-end solutions “involving demos, documentation, installation, training, risk profiling, reconciliation, settlement and analytics” will be provided for smoother transition into this unexplored territory.

As RGandhi, the deputy governor of RBI observed, though there are nearly 800 million cards issued in India, only 1.5 million POS machines are serving them. One hopes that the Bharat QR Code will reduce this burden and provide a alternative, cheap and secure option for digital transactions.

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Always caught between multiple worlds of her own creation, Amulya believes in the transformative power of literary & performative arts. If not caught worrying over what her next read is going to be, she can be found amid Bengaluru Traffic shouting at fellow commuters.